“You can start over by yourself because when I tell Ri about this, it’s over for you.”
He rolls his eyes. “Please, you don’t want that nag in your life either.”
“You have one more time to call my sister a nag.” He thinks I’m such a prize because I never nagged him during our relationship. The truth is, I never cared enough to nag him. We spent a year together and I emotionally checked out six months in. I didn’t see a real future with him, so I didn’t care what he was doing. I stayed in the relationship for as long as I did because I didn’t want to lose him as a friend. Ri may be obnoxious and she and I have a whole host of issues to solve between us, but the love she has for Arnold is obvious. If he doesn’t appreciate that, then he doesn’t deserve her.
In my shocked haze, he manages to sneak up on me, forcing me back as his lips descend on me. Before they connect, I bow my head and swing my arm, connecting my hand with his right cheek.
The slap reverberates through the room, echoing off the walls and shattering any illusions he might’ve had about what would happen when he came here tonight.
“Get the fuck out of my room. Now!” I give him a look that says“try me again if you want to.” If he so much as breathes at me, I will take the past six months’ worth of pent-up aggression out on his face.
With his hand caressing his bruised cheek, he walks backward sloppily toward the door, hauling ass down the hall once he reaches it.
I drop my head into my hands, letting out a small scream. This must be a joke. This can’t possibly be how my life is going right now. Of course, my phone picks this very moment to ping with back-to-back messages from Evie and Dani asking where I am.
I already wasn’t looking forward to tonight and now I’m fully dreading it.
When I get to Dani’s room, I see that I’m the last to arrive. Despite the room being filled with fifteen other women, it somehow still looks organized. Dani has makeup stations set up in different corners of the room to keep everyone in their own spaces. She has two cameras set up: one in the corner to capture everyone’s process and one directly in front of her so that she can record a Get Ready With Me video. Ri’s station is set up directly next to hers because she’ll be making an appearance in Dani’s upcoming video.
I’m bombarded with hugs and kisses from my four cousins, including Nova and Mina. I’m overwhelmed by greetings from Ri’s college friends, her cycling friends, one of the agents who works for Arnold, and a few other women I don’t know. Dani tells me where to put my garment bag and leads me to my makeup station so I can join in on the festivities. Evie hands me a shot that I down in seconds.
Her brows furrow. “You good?”
I glance over at Ri, laughing with Dani and her college friend Crystal. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen Ri truly smile during this trip. My head is spinning, trying to find the right balance between what’s right and what’s best for everyone. The last thing I want to do is ruin a rare moment of happiness for Ri by telling her about Arnold, but I can’t in good conscience let her walk down the aisle to him without her knowing.
“Uh, ask me again in five minutes.” I march over to Ri and try to put as much pep into my voice as I can. “Hey, Ri, could I talk to you for a second?”
She peers up at me through her false lashes. Her makeup is stunning. Her eyeshadow is a bold orange and brown ombré that makes the chocolate of her eyes stand out. Her cheekbones are perfectly enhanced by the gold blush she’s sporting and her lips are a glossy orange-reddish color, giving her a summer glow look.
She gets up without a fuss and joins me in the hallway outside of Dani’s room.
“Listen, I don’t know how to say this so…”
She puts her palm up, stopping my sentence short. “Hold up, if this is about you and Mom I really don’t wanna hear it right now. Tonight is all about fun so let’s just focus on that, okay?”
I wish our biggest problem was Mom right now. “No, it’s not that.”
“Nelly, you still gotta do your makeup and I wanna get dressed and get fucked up with my girls. Whatever you have to say can wait. I don’t want any drama tonight. Can you do that for me?” I love how she says this like I’m the one causing the drama. I didn’t ask for this shit to be brought to my door.
“I really think I should just tell you.”
She plugs her ears with her fingers, singing to block me out. “No drama! Love you, bye!” She kisses me on the cheek and skips back into the room.
Great.
It only takes us forty-five minutes to get ready and another twenty to get to the club. We walk in as JayO’s “22” is playing and Crystal, Nova, and Ri’s other friend Melinda run off to the dance floor. Ri intertwines our fingers and shimmies us through the crowd to join them. I try to let the music wash away my worries.
The guilt of not telling Ri about Arnold continues to needle my mind like a gnat so I drown it with alcohol. I’ve been throwing shots back like water since we got here. I’m not even sure how long we’ve been here, but I know I’ve heard about twenty different songs.
Evie pulls me off the dance floor to our now empty VIP section. “What’s up? You don’t get this drunk this quickly.”
I dance by her side, whining my hips to the music. “What ol’ boy say? I’m gonna dance my pain away, I got problems,” I sing.
“You miss your man or something?” Evie pokes fun at me, bumping my hip with hers.
Maybe a dose of Rome is what I need right now but I don’t want to interrupt his fun. My mind shifts to panic when I remember that he’s with Arnold. What if he confesses what he did to Rome? Will Rome be upset that I didn’t tell him first? Will Arnold spin it to seem like I came on to him? Matter of fact, what if he does the same thing with Ri and tells her what happened tonight but spins it in his favor?
Evie shoves a bottle of ice-cold water in my face and I chug the whole thing, ignoring the brain freeze. I tell her what happened with Arnold and her eyes widen in surprise.
